Oil giant Total rebrands and boosts renewables spend

By the numbers: Looking further out, Total said its focus on liquefied natural gas, renewables and other electricity services means that oil products will fall to 30% of its sales mix by 2030.

• "The company expects its energy sales mix to be 50% gases, 30% oil products, 5% biofuels and 15% electrons by 2030, compared with 55% oil products, 40% gas and 5% electrons in 2019," S&P Global Platts reports.

The intrigue: Total is asking shareholders to endorse a rebrand as TotalEnergies.

• The French company says the name reflects its plan to "transform itself into a broad energy company to meet the dual challenge of the energy transition: more energy, less emissions."
• It comes after Norwegian oil major Statoil rebranded as Equinor in 2018.

Why it matters: It's the latest sign of how some of the world's most powerful oil companies are moving more deeply into cleaner tech outside what remains their dominant fossil fuel business.

• Total in recent years has been expanding more deeply into areas including renewables, batteries, hydrogen and electric vehicle charging.

What we're watching: On Thursday, Royal Dutch Shell is slated to unveil specifics about its plan to be a "net-zero emissions" business by 2050.

Catch up quick: Total's announcement arrived as part of the company's fourth-quarter and full-year earnings report.

• It reported a $7.2 billion net loss on the year, showing the pandemic's toll on the sector as companies took huge write-downs and grappled with the collapse in demand and prices.
• But Reuters notes that its Q4 earnings fell less sharply than the prior three months and that its adjusted profit of $1.3 billion for the period beat analysts' expectations.